The ladies remember - York City Roads & Automobiles

We can't remember, now, if they were dirt or concrete. The sidewalks were cement... good for roller-skating, hopscotch, and jump rope. Mary's dad had a Model A Ford. The car was big enough for three people. Some of the cars had a rumble seat in the back of the car. This seat was fun, except when it rained or snowed. Mary's grandfather was a veterinarian, he was a large animal doctor. He needed a larger car to drive from farm to farm. If the weather got bad, he used a horse and buggy. Men and women wore a duster while driving.

In New Freedom, the roads were dirt. Most of the rural roads were dirt. When the rain and snow came, the roads got very muddy. Many neighbors would come to help get the car out of the mud if we got stuck.. When it snowed, Norma's father had a sled pulled by their farm horses. The cars could not go through the mud or snow. Later, chains could be bought for the car tires.

Marie was born in Lucky, then years later the family moved to Red Lion. The streets in town were dirt. Her parents had a horse and buggy. Later her Dad got a Model T Ford. If the kids wanted to go somewhere and to school - they had to walk. Mothers, often, did not drive - so you could ride the street cars in York to Windsor. Cost was four cents for kids and seven cents for adults. The street cars ran until 1953. Then, it seemed, the modern age of the traffic jam had begun.

All in a day's drive...

We "backed up" to a day when exercise was found in a day's work and we didn't need to go to a gym to stay in shape.
We would walk to school, shovel the roads when we got our cars stuck, and in some cases - walk to work and back. We
remember travelling in cars that we cranked to start, such as Model T Fords, as we.ll as driving cars without power
brakes, power steering or even air conditioning. Talk about a workout!

We didn't need seatbelts because the roads were so bumpy. We didn't drive fast enough to get hurt if we did hit
something. We drove less frequently back then, maybe to a roller skating rink or a drive-in movie on a Saturday
night or to church on Sunday. Gas was 17 cents per gallon and dirt roads were levelled with a "drag" that was
pulled by horses. Route 95 was not built yet, so a trip to Florida was a very slow adventure. Street cars and the
Ma & Pa were methods of travelling from lower Red Lion (Brogue, New Bridgeville, Windsor and Felton) to York for a
shopping trip.

Winter was a special challenge with snow fences and tire chains. There were no school buses back
then so school was NEVER cancelled due to bad weather. We walked, in some cases, for miles to get there. Most of
us decided we would like to go back and relive those days for, maybe, a week - but definitely NOT in wintertime!

On dating... the men's perspective

Dating, where to start? It isn't always easy finding a girlfriend. Sure, going to a one-room school house - people would think that having a crush on a girl would be easy. But not if you're a 'picky' person. When you are, finding someone is harder than you would think. The characteristics of a girl have to be just right. They have to have good looks, dress nice, good personality, and would have to be smart enough to make up for the other half of my brain. That 'right' girl would be Violet Craley. She was all that and much more. She was the school girl of any boys dreams. She had long black hair and a smile that would make you melt. And Violet was all mine! We went to the movies together; we visited the country fair and we went out for dinner plenty of times. Life with her felt complete. I'd even bought her flowers and candy, on occasion. We did it all. I had what many other men didn't - a smart, pretty girl. Unfortunately, a year later I found out she wasn't the one for me. One day she told me that her feelings had changed, and that she thought she liked someone else. I didn't know what to say, so I just let her go.

Living on a farm is hard work, but when your parents ship you out, and has your brother take over the farm - there's no where left to go. I decided to go into the Service. I found myself another young gal, and she was by my side through it all. We met through our parents and she was one of a kind. She always wrote to me when I was across the seas and she was waiting for me when I came back home on leave. When I came home she was waiting for me with her arms open wide, ready to give me a big hug and welcome me home. No one knows that kind of feeling unless you're in love, and I sure was. She was truly faithful. I thought, for sure, that this young lady was going to be better than Violet, and never leave my side. I had one more year left in the service, and I couldn't wait to go home and be with my gal. One day I got a letter that no man wanted to get in the mail. She wrote me a letter saying how much she loved me, and that the times we had together were great, and that she would cherish every moment we had together - but that our relationship had come to an end. She had no reason in the words she wrote in her note. Her last words to me were for me to 'be safe' and 'take care'. I knew she would no longer be a part of my life. Heart-broken, I made it through my last year - wondering where my life would take me from there.

After a couple of months at home, I met Doris Heigner. She was the top of them all. We did everything together. It was something about that girl that I could love over and over again. When I joined the baseball team, she came to all the practices and games. She was my number one fan. Every Saturday night we went to my sisters to churn the homemade ice cream. Nothing beats eating freshly made ice cream with your family and your gal.

After three wonderful years together we started talking about marriage on and off. We already knew it would be parent-approved because our parents already knew each other. They would be delighted to see their kids get married to each other. In the Spring of 1945 I gave her a ring. We were happily married the following year.

My wife is still with me today. She is in my heart, and with me all the time. Even thought it is years later, my love for her continues on and always will. We shared a life together that no one else could - and for that I love her always.

Summer crushes and a thousand words

Pictures say a thousand words - especially when you see a little boy and girl sitting on a bench, eating their packed lunches. Some would say they're brother and sister. Others would say they are sharing a bench. I would say that's my 'crush'. Things are different these days. Back then, you would say I had a crush on the boy sitting on the bench - that he might be my boyfriend if I asked him to be. These days if I was caught sitting on a bench with a boy, he'd be my boyfriend whether or not I knew it (according to everyone else). Boy, has time changed.

The boys I always had crushes on would be real nice and good looking. Some would have brown hair and long eye lashes. Others would be dressed like church boys every day. I guess it depends on what mood I was in that day. Later on in life, I find that as they have grown up to be handsome gentlemen - it doesn't matter so much, as long as they have a good personality. The boys I liked often had great parents, and would often keep an eye on us to make sure we were 'good' when we were together.

As I got older, crushes turned into dates. Some men I dated acted like babies and others were too grown up for their age, and didn't want to have fun. Some of the men I dated were 'parent-approved', and the relationship lasted a long time. There was one boy I went to school with, who I had a crush on. The closest I could get to him, without being too bold - was eating lunch near him on the only bench in the schoolyard. Now I like to peek out my window on a hot day, and look for that boy to share the bench with me again. He lived nearby, back then. I'd watch him mow the yard, too shy to talk to him. The sweat would roll down him back, it was so hot. One day I was daring, and decided to ask Mom if I could have some lemonade to bring to him. She smiled, her eyes twinkling - but warned me to come right back when he had finished his lemonade. To my delight, he thanked me for the drink - and even asked if he could take me out some time!

Our first date was under the train tracks down the road towards town. We'd met in the afternoon on the top of the hill, and decided to walk down to buy 5-cent vanilla ice cream cones. When the evening ended, he walked me home. I hoped he wouldn't kiss me. I didn't want to get in trouble... and I knew my dad was watching us say goodnight.

At our first school dance, I got to meet his parents and they seemed very nice. His mom liked my street dress, and his dad said that I was a 'pretty young lady', and that I should make certain his son opened doors for me. Later, at the dance I panicked. I didn't know where I was supposed to pur my hands when we danced! I kept thinking, "Is he going to hold my hand while we dance? Am I supposed to put my hands on his shoulders?" I was so scared, but our first dance turned out great. We held hands, and just swayed to the music. On the second dance, I did put my hands on his shoulders - and it wasn't so scary after all. The night seemed magic to me.

A couple of years later, I walked into the house to find my boyfriend sitting in the living room, and my parents in kitchen, talking. The feeling I had was so unusual that I thought, at first, that something must be wrong! I was about to run to the kitchen to my parents, when my boyfriend snatched my hand and spun me around to face him - down on one knee he went, still holding my hand. In his other hand he held his class ring. "This is all I have," he said, "but will you marry me?" I was so surprised I didn't know what to say! "Yes" was out of my mouth before I could think... and the ring went on my finger. We were married for a long time.

Just a simple picture of a little boy & girl sitting on a bench eating lunch together has me got me thinking, how thousands of words and thousands of days later - a 'crush' had become something more.